A Night of Remembering
by Kate Bridges
Summary: After Kate comes home from meeting Jack, she and Sawyer remember days on the island. Spoilers from season 3 finale. review please!


**Hey guys, I'm back!**

**Sorry I haven't been writing at all. My computer's been broken (still is, actually) but I'm borrowing my dad's laptop to get some writing done. It's not my best, but hopefully you will enjoy it anyway.**

**This story's dedicated to SassyLostie, who gave me the motivation to finally start writing again! Thanks so much!**

**And now on to disclaimers: No, I don't own it. I don't own Lost, or Warmer Climate, by Snow Patrol, or Golden Days by The Damnwells. **

**Enjoy, and review!**

**Love, Kate**

_"Edison would spin in his grave_

_To ever see the light that you gave." Snow Patrol_

_"Let's go and get tangled in chains of golden days." The Damnwells_

The rain tangled in Kate's hair, twisting it into thick brown ropes as she slammed the car door. She hadn't been ready for that, she realized. She hadn't seen Jack in months, and nothing could prepare her for what he had said. The words kept running through her head like an unstoppable broken record. It drove her crazy those few minutes, driving the endless journey home, alone in the dark.

It even made her cry when she drove away in the car. Just a little.

Kate climbed the steps to their apartment, closing the front door behind her gently. The dim lights flickered on as she flipped the switch. She kicked off her shoes into a small pile behind his by the door. He was probably asleep already, but she rubbed her fists hard on her eyes again anyway. If he appeared in the hallway before her now, she didn't want him to know she had been crying. But she found herself wishing he wasn't. More than anything right now, she needed someone to talk to.

Her fingers brushed against an untouched pile of letters on the table. Most of them were bills, or a demand for overdue rent. But three of them bore the same name in the upper left corner, in carefully written slanted script. Kate could feel tears rush to her eyes just looking at them. They were all from Claire, who had been sending letters to them almost every few weeks. Things had never been the same for Claire without Charlie. She'd taken to writing letters, often pages long, talking about how much Aaron loved school and how much they missed them. Kate had often gone to see Claire and Aaron, and had offered that they stay with her, move out of their tiny apartment. But Claire always said no.

Kate bit her lip. Hard. It wasn't right, she thought. It's not fair.

But she couldn't do anything about it. She left the letters behind as she tiptoed down the narrow hallway. She could hear nothing but silence, and sighed. But as she twisted the faded gold knob of their bedroom door, she found she had been wrong. The familiar deep voice reached her in the dark: "What're ya doin up at this hour, Freckles?"

She let out a sigh of relief and switched on the light. Sawyer was lying there, a look of concern in his eyes.

"I saw Jack," was all she said.

He sat up sharply. "How's the doc?" he asked, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

Kate shook her head, letting it hang down. "I could hardly reconigize him, Sawyer," she stammered. "I don't know what's happened to him. He said-" she still couldn't speak the words without them making her voice shake. "He said everything was better on the island, that we had to go back."

She hadn't even noticed the tears streaming down her face until she felt his thumb gently wiping them away. She felt his lips press against her hair, and she closed her eyes as that simple gesture seemed to take that burden away.

Then, to her surprise, she heard him laugh quietly. "We did have some good times on that crazy island, didn't we?" he chuckled.

Kate was so surprised to hear that laugh that she couldn't help but join in. It had been forever since she heard that sound, she thought. "Course there were the cages, and polar bears, and groups of people out to kill us-"

"But then there were the golf matches, you and the Doc always beatin' me at cards-"

"Come on, you hated that." Kate grinned, shoving him playfully. "And Hurley beating you at ping pong too."

Sawyer glared. "I'm telling you, he cheated," he said, letting a smile slide onto his face.

"How do you cheat at ping pong?" Kate cracked up.

He shrugged. "Course there was that time you hit me with a rock," he laughed.

"And the waterfall in the jungle," Kate continued excitedly.

"Don't forget the dead bodies," Sawyer reminded her.

Kate rolled her eyes. "It would have been romantic."

"Hey," Sawyer said. "Maybe he was right. As usual," he grinned.

"Yeah," Kate murmured, her thoughts traveling back to Jack. "Maybe."

She glanced at the clock. Three am. But she didn't care.

Kate pressed her lips gently to Sawyer's again before untangling herself from the covers and finding her way to the door. "I'll be right back," she said, "There's something I have to do."

She kissed him again deeply and stepped out into the hallway.

Kate stared at the phone resting in her shaking fingers for what seemed like an eternity. This was the time to make her decision. She knew it would be hard to turn back after this.

She punched the number in before she had another chance to think twice.

Jack picked up on the first ring. She could tell he had been lying awake.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He sighed. "Yeah, me too. You think I'm crazy, right?"

She shook her head. "I think maybe I did," she said, hating herself for this cruel honesty. "But not anymore." _Not after talking to Sawyer, _she thought to herself, amazed at how he had become her best friend.

"Then let's go back," Jack pleaded, a desperate tone in his voice that startled her.

She bit her lip and nodded, pushing away all the voices that screamed to her how crazy the idea was. She didn't care. She just wanted them all back together again.

"Okay."


End file.
